A March to Madness: A View from the
Floor in the Atlantic Coast
Conference by John Feinstein
Great Behind The Scenes Writing
In terms of work ethic, John Feinstein is the sports equivalent of Stephen
King: hes tireless, prolific, and multifaceted. With a past-performance line
that includes A Season on the Brink, A Good Walk Spoiled, and A Civil
War, hes regularly in the running for his genres MVP. A March to
Madness, which chronicles the 1996-97 Atlantic Coast Conferences
ineluctable journey to March Madness, continues his string. Exhaustively
reported, and penned with as much poignancy as panache, its the story of
the most competitive college basketball conference in the U.S., filtered
through the eyes--and complex lives--of its head coaches. Coaching
young in-your-faces is never easy; its even harder in a pressure cooker
such as the ACC, where expectations are enormous, winning is essential,
and an NCAA tournament bid is requisite for survival. Feinstein had
remarkable access to his high-profile, high-strung subjects, such as Dean

Smith, Bobby Cremins, and Mike Krzyzewski, and the drama he records is
every bit as fast-paced and stunning as a close Duke-North Carolina
game with the final seconds ticking off the clock.
Personal Review: A March to Madness: A View from the Floor in
the Atlantic Coast Conference by John Feinstein
I'm not a college hoops fan, but having come from the University of
Connecticut (back when winning the NIT was a big deal for us), I figured I
should try to read something about the sport that has come to define my
alma mater.
I chose well. No, UConn is not a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the
subject of this season-long profile by John Feinstein. But Feinstein gives a
solid appreciation for what college basketball is all about through the
experiences of the coaches, players, refs, execs, and fans active in the
ACC, which Feinstein claims is perhaps the most competitive b-ball
conference in Division 1, year in and out. "Let down just the slightest bit
and you become instant roadkill," he writes.
Feinstein gives you a sense of the different coaching styles at play here,
from Dean Smith's traditional approach at North Carolina to Rick Barnes'
cut-up quirkiness at Clemson to Dave Odom's huggy-bear avuncularity at
Wake Forest. He relates tales about the history and folklore of the
conference that make one feel like an instant Dick Vitale just from reading
them, even if the terms "traveling" and "charging" make you flash on
American Express. Most importantly, he writes a book that really opens up
the world of college basketball to the more casual fan, or even curious
non-fan.
That's what I liked the book. I read it, relished it, and enjoyed it with
practically no knowledge of the sport going in. The way Feinstein writes
about how different refs call different fouls, for example, was both
illuminating and entertaining reading.
Feinstein also writes candidly about contracts, recruiting, marriages (failed
and successful), burnout, death, and all the other factors that affect college
coaches. Players are less the focus, and I get the feeling that Feinstein
speaks from personal experience late in the book when he speculates
about how an inability to relate to his young players may have moved
Dean Smith to retire at 66. The absence of a players' perspective is
unfortunate, but it kind of follows with the focus of the book being on the
nine coaches, seven of whom gave Feinstein total access.
Feinstein obviously worked hard, and at times his narrative seems to be
everywhere at once. Really great work on game descriptions, too, the way
he uses them judiciously to punch up the storyline without letting them
overtake the rest of the book.

Finally, this is a must-read for fans of Duke and their coach, Mike
Krzyzewski. Krzyzewski comes off the best in this book, and while some
charge Duke grad Feinstein with bias, the truth is Krzyzewski has the most
to offer, both as a man and as a coach. The story of his "drawing the line"
before a big game with North Carolina is worth the price of the book by
itself. Between him and Dean Smith, I'm surprised Feinstein had time at all
for poor Pat Kennedy of Florida State, but he works hard at balance.
What most comes across in this book is the amazing drive of the people
involved. "If you're good enough to reach a goal, then there's still
someplace else to go," says Maryland coach Gary Williams. "You don't just
stop. You keep trying to be better."
There are minor holes in "A March To Madness," but what makes it great
is the fact its author shares Williams' passion for excellence. There's no let
up.
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